Band for use with tractors or the like



Dec. 4, 1928. 1,693,833

G, l. WORLEY BAND FOR USE WITH TRACTORS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 24, 1925I'll/l 0 ZQ$ l4 L5 qr Q icona s i alifLcr BY A TTORNEY.

Pa tented Dec. i, 1928. I v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEOBGE I. WORLEY, OI AKRON, OHIO.

' BAND FOR USE WITH TRAOTORS 'OR THE LIKE.

Applicationflled September 24, 1925. Serial No. 58,306.

othenheavy vehicles which'are required to traverse varied roads andsoils, as, for exam le, in the hauling of dirt in excavating or llingjobs.

The features of the invention will be pointed out during the detaileddescription of the invention, but it will be understood that theinvention is not'intended to be limited beyond the true scope. thereofas set forth in.

' jthe claims herein.

In' the drawings, which show the embodiment of the. invention preferredby me at the present time,

Figured is a side elevation of a couple or unit constituting theinvention;

Figure 2 isa section on the line 22 of Fi ure 1; and

igure 3 is an enlarged cross-section showing t e detailed constructionof the device.

I- have not shown and described herein the detailed construction of thewheels or power mechanism of the vehicle as the present inventionrelates wholly to the endless band or tire and-to its'construction whichis particularly designed for heavy duty over soft, sandy or slipperyground and which is at the same time suitable for relatively high speedover hard or paved roads.

The supportin unit arranged upon either side of the vehic e consists oftwo wheels 5, one of which is driven and the other an idler, althoughthe number and arrangement of the wheels may be varied if founddesirable. The outer periphery of each wheel is formed with an angularor V-shaped groove and in the construction shown the groove is formed byintegral, inclined flange 6 at one side of the wheel and a removableflange 7 on the other side, this flange being secured b a plurality ofbolts 8 which may be remove to remove the tire.

The tire or endless tread, indicated at 10, is in the form of acontinuous band which is appropriately triangular in cross-section, theapex of the triangle being designed to fit the 'V-shaped groove'm thewheel. The body of the tire is composed of a tough, resilient band aboutthe wheels.

of rubber, preferably of a character similar to that used in the treadof automobile tires,

this character and composition of rubber being admirably adapted forwork to be performed. The outer surface of the tire is formedwithnon-skid projections or depressions 11, such as ordinarily used inthe treads of automobile tires, and the inner surface at the apex of thetire is formed with a plurality of transverse notches or cuts 12 whichare designed to permit the tire to In lorderxto prevent excessivestretching and elongationjjof the hand, there is incorporated within"the body a reinforcement embodying a plui'ality of cords arrangedlongiflex readily v tudinally of the hand. For this purpose a strip ofrubberized, cotton fabric, such as used in the manufacture of cordtires, is embedded Within the center of the tire. known in the art, cordfabric such as used'in the manufacture of cord tires comprises amultiplicity of small cords laid parallel and often held in suchrelation by a number of small crossing threads. In the manufacture ofthe im roved form of band, cord fabric, rubberize b calendering a highlyresilient grade of rub er thereon and cut into a long narrow strip, iswound about the me during the building up of the tire a suflicientnumber of times to give a "plurality of layers at every point abouttheband, imparting the required strength to the structure. In forms whichhave been successfully used by me, twelve la ers or turns of cord fabricrepared an laid up in the manner descrl d have been incorporated in thetire and have given the required strength thereto. The

layers of cord fabric are indicated in the drawings by the numeral 13.

Other forms of fabric or relnforcement may be used in place of thecordfabr c which has been specifically described and such equivalentmaterial is intended to be covered herein.

On both sides of placed layers of heavier fabr c 14 such as used in themanufacture of tires and known as breaker fabric. This fabric has heavycords spaced apart and is rubberized and preferably cut at an angle tothe plane of. the

As is well the fabric layers 13 are tire, the purpose of the breakerfabric being to prevent the separation of the body of the tire and thefabric reinforce 13. Between the breaker strips 14 and the fabricreinforce her, known as cushion rubber. The entire band is vulcanized asa single unit. and being without any joints or splices, will not beeasily worn out or destroyed.

It will be observed that the cord reinforcement in the tractor band islocated at considerable depth below the tread surface of the band andapproximately in alignment with the points where the band enters thegrooves in the Wheels. This location of the cord reinforcement is animportant feature of the band construction as it is at the neutral pointin the tire, that is to say, at the point in which the action is at theminimum. By so locating the reinforcel'nent for the band, the tendencyof the cords to separate from the rubber is reduced to a negligibleamount so that the life of the band is increased.

I-he'invention may be embodied in differ-' give a plurality of layersthrough the whole of the band.

2. An endless band for tractors, the band being composed of tough,resilient rubber,

and a cord reinforcement embedded in the rubber at the center of theband comprising a plurality of cotton cords laced closely together andarranged longitudinally of the band to prevent elongation thereof andbreaker strips arranged on either side of the said reinforcement.

3. An endless band, comprising a body portion of solid, tough, resilientrubber, and a reinforcement located at and confined to the neutral areain the band, said reinforcement comprising a lurality of layers of cordparallel to the liand, the cords being coated with highly resilientrubber.

7 4. An endless band, comprising a body portion of solid, tough,resilient rubber, the inner surface of the band having sides sloping tothe edges of the band, and a reinforcement located at and confined tothe neutral area in the band,'said reinforcement comprising aplurality-of layers of cord parallel to the )and, the cords being coatedwith highly resilient rubber.

5. 'An endless band, comprising a body portion of solid, tough,resilient rubber, the inner surface of the band having sides slopingGEORGE I. WORLEY

